Taliaferro, Lubrano and McCombie elected as Penn State's newest trustees

They're the first since the Sandusky scandal broke.

STATE COLLEGE — Penn State alumni chose former Penn State cornerback Adam Taliaferro, university donor Anthony Lubrano and retired Navy SEAL Ryan McCombie as their newest trustees, the first selected since the Jerry Sandusky sex-abuse scandal broke in November.

Taliaferro came in first, with 15,629 votes. Lubrano followed with 10,096, and McCombie pulled in with 4,806. More than 37,000 alumni cast votes, a massive turnout compared with most years.

The three men join a 32-member governing board that's been battered by accusations of cowardice, collusion and a lack of conscience since the firing of football coach Joe Paterno.

Anne Riley, the only incumbent seeking re-election as a Penn State graduate, lost.

Few alumni have been louder critics of trustees than Lubrano, a wealthy donor who has made the board's firing of Paterno a central tent of his campaign. Victorious, Lubrano shook hands with well-wishers after the election, a smile and news release at hand for every passer-by.

His plans, he wrote, are best described by the acronym "SURPRISE" — a multi-step platform that includes apologizing to Paterno's family, adding a public comment period before board meetings and ending what he termed the university's internal "witch hunt."

How he'll get that done after spending the past six months roasting his fellow trustees is a matter he'll leave for the summer.

"I don't think any of these people are bad people," Lubrano said. "And I think in a society that's civil, people have to learn to work together. And I certainly intend to do that."

Taliaferro, a former cornerback whose inspiring recovery from a career-ending injury in 2000 made him a star in Happy Valley, wasn't at Friday's board meeting. Neither was McCombie, a 1970 graduate and former SEAL who served in Vietnam.

But Taliaferro shared his victory on Twitter: "Truly humbled and thankful 4 the support of the PSU Alumni … I promise I will work as hard as I can for Penn State."

Despite the fierce competition for their seats, the new trustees are still only three voters among 32. Alumni hold nine seats on Penn State's board, with three coming up for re-election every year. The remainder of the trustees are appointed by the governor, selected by agricultural societies or pulled from businesses.

The board makes its own selections for the six seats representing business and industry, and it chose to reappoint Kenneth Frazier, who heads the university's special investigating committee, and Edward Hintz. Agricultural societies, which hold six seats of their own, appointed incumbent Carl Shaffer and newcomer Donald Cotner.

Incumbent Riley, a 1964 graduate and former schoolteacher, lost her re-election bid. After January's board meeting, she tearfully spoke of her close relationship with Paterno and the difficult decision to vote for his dismissal. Crocodile tears, her opponents sneered.

In a written statement following the election, Riley belied no regrets nor bitterness at her ouster.

"I will continue to tell, in the active voice, our Penn State story in writing, speaking and conversation," she wrote. "I'll remind myself and my audiences how far we have come, and especially how much more we have to do and can do with the needed resources."

This was an election year like no other. Most pass with little notice and a smattering of candidates, but 2012 saw 86 alumni seeking an seat, a testament to the deep dissatisfaction with how the university has handled the Sandusky scandal.

Chief among their concerns was Paterno, who died two months after he was dismissed by the board for a "failure of leadership." Many assert trustees acted rashly in firing Paterno in the week following Sandusky's arrest, betraying his long legacy of service to the university.

Sandusky, a former defensive coordinator, stands charged with more than 50 counts of child abuse, stemming from incidents prosecutors say span two decades and locations both on and off Penn State's campus. He maintains his innocence.

Athletic Director Tim Curley and university administrator Gary Schultz were also charged with perjury after authorities said they lied to a grand jury about a 2002 incident. The scandal forced out former university President Graham Spanier, who was dismissed the same night as Paterno.

Curley and Schultz asked in legal papers filed Friday that their charges be dismissed.